Disney’s new documentary Music by John Williams gives an intriguing insight into the different highs and lows of the legendary composer’s iconic career. Across the film industry, John Williams has composed celebrated musical scores for iconic films such as Jaws, Alone at homeand Star Wars and has been cited as an inspiration for other film composers, including Alan Silvestri and Itzshak Perlman. He holds the record for the person with the second most Oscar nominations, with 56 nominations and four wins.
Throughout his career, John Williams worked closely with film director Steven Spielberg; Since their first collaboration in 1974, Williams has composed music for all but five of Spielberg’s films. Three of Williams’ Oscars were for his work on what many consider to be some of Steven Spielberg’s best films. Williams has composed notable scores for Spielberg’s works, but has admitted to having problems composing music for a specific film.
John Williams suffered burnout composing for close encounters of the third kind
Williams worked on the film after composing the Star Wars soundtrack
In 1975, Steven Spielberg and John Williams collaborated for the third time on the sci-fi film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which depicts ordinary people’s encounters with UFOs. John Williams had already worked with Spielberg on Jaws, where it won an Oscar for Best Original Score. Although Williams was happy to collaborate with Spielberg to Close Encountershe revealed that he faced problems composing the score.
Williams explained in Music by John Williams that he was unsure of his ability to write music for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. At the time, he had just completed his iconic Star Wars score, and he felt that “there wasn’t a note on it“. During a telephone conversation with his father, Johnny, Williams asked for advice and his father told him “just keep working on it and you’ll be fine“; This light-hearted but well-intentioned advice from his father gave Williams the confidence to complete the score for Close Encounters.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Saw Williams Receive Her 13th Oscar Nomination
The Score For Close Encounters won 2 Grammy Awards
Despite initial uncertainties, Williams managed to complete the score for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The score is described by music historian Alex Ross in the documentary as “very avant-garde” and “very dissonant” with “very extreme sounds“. Williams also displayed his music book, in which he composed several experimental pieces; he and Spielberg tested several before finally settling on the five-note motif used in the film to communicate with the aliens.
The score for Close Encounters was met with critical acclaim, winning two Grammy Awards and receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, Williams’ 13th Academy Award nomination in his musical career.
The score for Close Encounters was met with critical acclaim, winning two Grammy Awards and receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score, Williams’ 13th Oscar nomination in his musical career. His work on the score helped solidify Close Encounters as one of Steven Spielberg’s best alien films. As shown in Music with John WilliamsThe famous composer faced challenges when it came to composing music, but he was able to overcome them and create mesmerizing soundtracks for many famous films.